Black ice paralyzes Eastern Austria with roads and airport shutdowns
Slippery Sidewalks, Scraping Shovels, and Wailing Sirens: Black Ice Turns Eastern Austria Into a Skating Rink
The scene on Tuesday morning in eastern Austria was one of wobbly pedestrians, the relentless scrape of countless snow shovels, and the intermittent flash of blue lights and wail of sirens. A treacherous layer of black ice—up to a centimeter thick—had sealed streets, sidewalks, and nearly every other surface in a slick, unyielding grip.
"This ice is no joke," Kabo, an employee at Volksgarten, a club in Vienna's city center, told Die Presse as he chipped away at the frozen sheath blocking the entrance. By around 9 a.m., the task had grown slightly easier—the ice had begun to thaw, and the chaos on the roads started to ease. Yet emergency crews and road clearance teams remained in round-the-clock operation, while public transport grappled with delays. Vienna Schwechat Airport, temporarily shut down, planned to resume flights at 11 a.m., though passengers were warned to brace for further cancellations and setbacks.
The weather forecast promises calmer conditions in the days ahead, though patches of freezing drizzle and high fog could still bring isolated icy stretches in Lower Austria and Vienna. Elsewhere in the country, temperatures will climb above freezing, with sunshine even breaking through in places.
